Events across Michigan honor King Day

EAST LANSING (AP) -- Events across Michigan this week are honoring the birthday of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and the 50th anniversary of his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

Michigan State University's College of Music was hosting two free concerts -- at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sunday -- honoring King at Wharton Center's Pasant Theatre in East Lansing. The concerts will feature pop, soul and gospel hits from the 1960s and 1970s. Tickets were not required for the event and space was available on a first-come, first served basis.

Detroit Public Schools is launching a day of service to celebrate King's birthday Monday. Community members can volunteer to participate in two- to three-hour-long projects Monday morning at more than a dozen Detroit public schools. The projects include school beautification.

The Thomas Cooley Law School is also hosting an event Monday at the Auburn Hills campus. The school's annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day program kicks off with a 9 a.m. breakfast and a nondenominational prayer service at 9:30 a.m. The prayer service will be followed by a panel discussion titled "Civil Rights Challenges Facing Individuals in their Communities."

People can also take part in community service work at Grace Centers of Hope in Pontiac and the Detroit City Rescue Mission later in the day.

Detroit Catholic Auxiliary Bishop Arturo Cepeda is celebrating Mass at 10 a.m. Monday at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit to honor King.